Agapanthus Tango

by David Francis

Relationships with horses are just the backdrop to the real story - the exploration of the inexplicable complexities of human emotion. With few words the author evokes the bleakness of the environment and many of the memorable images are uncomfortable.

Extract

My father's name is Darwin. He has one lazy-lidded, hooded eye. An eye that belongs to another man's face. A mickey bull kicked up at him, the branding iron was in my hand. When the swollen purple subsided, it uncovered the colour of a bloodshot potato. He couldn't see out of it.